happy friday. this morning, we'll get a pretty good indication of how the economy is doing with the latest jobs report. businesses come out of the fiscal cliff masked with millions of tax breaks but you and i are still going to pay more. president obama enjoys shaved ice. joe biden puts his foot in his mouth yet again. and the sharks are circling. and what show is not complete without a cow that looks like a horse. "early today" starts right now. this is "early today" january 4th, 2013. good morning, i'm mara schiavocampo. the december jobs report will be released today and in spite of the challenges of the fiscal cliff and hurricane sandy, economists are predicting

150,000 new jobs. that will remain at 7.7% unemployment. nbc's tracie potts is in washington with more on this. >> reporter: mara, good morning. holiday hiring and shopping could also have some play into all that. we'll know in about an hour and a half what those new job numbers look like. 150, 160,000 new jobs is what we're hearing. but the jobless rate 7.7% expected to stay about the same. there are a number of things we do know that could have some impact here, adp says private job growth was about 215,000 in the last month. weekly unemployment claims up about 10,000. we also now know retail sales were up more than expected about 4.5%. again probably that holiday boom. auto sales were up about 9% and that's something that was predicted after hurricane sandy, a lot of people lost their cars

it was predicted that the auto industry might end up benefiting from that. bottom line as we await these numbers it will tell a story how the economy is doing when you look at the big picture, economists are fairly confident. the fiscal cliff deal is making it a happy new year for many businesses including rum makers and hollywood studios and the critics are calling it quote special interest handouts more than 50 temporary tax breaks were renewed. totaling more than $63 billion next year. these include taxes on rum imported into the u.s. a tax credit for buying electric-powered motorcycles. a so-called nascar tax break allowing motor racing tracks to did depreciate assets faster than other businesses. and a break for film and tv productions shooting in the u.s. supporters say these subsidies help businesses create jobs. john boehner is starting his second term as speaker of the house. boehner was re-elected thursday with 220 votes.

though he had overwhelming support from the gop ten conservative lawmakers voted for someone other than boehner during a roll call vote. and some sustained altogether. boehner reminded voters to stay focused on public service and not personal glory. >> if you've come here to see your name in the lights or to pass off political victory at some accomplishment, you've come to the wrong place. the door's right behind you. >> boehner says he plans to focus on the federal defit during this term. one of the first items of business for speaker boehner an aid package for hurricane sandy victims. later this morning, the house will vote on a $9.7 billion bill to replenish the national flood insurance program to provide relief for home and business owners flooded out by the storm. fema says it will run out of money next week if congress doesn't give it additional buying authority. boehner faced bipartisan criticism this week for failing to bring the measure to the floor.

>> students who attended sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut returned to class but in a different building in a different town. there were some anxiety as newtown school buses rolled through the community but their new route were lined with signs of support as they made their way to the newly renamed sandy hook elementary. the students attend ad re-outfitted middle school. the windows were decorated with snowflakes, some made by other students around the country. a gunman killed 20 of their classmates last month and that school is still a crime scene. secretary of state hillary clinton is reportedly recovering well after being released from a hospital this week. while clinton is recuperating at home, she's also working. a spokesman said she called into thursday's meeting of the foreign policy advisory board. secretary clinton spent three days in the hospital being treated for a blood clot discovered during a follow-up exam for a concussion she suffered last month.

mrs. clinton plans to return to work next week. well, president obama is continuing his holiday vacation in hawaii. one day after returning to the island, the president treated his daughters to some bowling and an iconic hawaiian island treat. shaved ice. the president has been said to have emerged with a blue and red multiflavored ice in hand. >> more than 5,000 miles away, vice president joe biden was participating in a mock swearing in of new senators when this awkward but funny moment happened with democrat heidi highcamp of north dakota. >> spread your legs -- you say that to somebody in north dakota, they think it's a frisk. >> i'm at a loss. i don't know where to go with that. spread your legs. you're about to be frisked.

>> spread your legs could have been avoid. maybe a cop can say it and get away with it. >> some funny moments in there too. a series of stuff. good morning, everyone. let me take you on a little tour of the weather headlines for our climate summary that we just got done with in 2012. in the lower 48, ended up being the warmest year ever recorded. our recorded history goes back in some cases 80 to 100 years. very impressive. then we had 11 billion dollar events. hurricane sandy and the drought that gripped so much of the country. back in 2011 we had 14 billion dollar weather events. usually we have four to six. this one is an interesting stat. we haven't had a tornado death in 194 days in this country. if we can make it three more days without a tornado death it will be the longest stretch ever recorded without a tornado fatality and this year was the fewest tornadoes since '89.

although we had those billion dollar events and disasters we didn't have as many tornadoes as normal. now as far as what we're dealing with as far as the weather pattern very quiet in the west, very cold in many areas of the interior west. the pattern will change a little bit. we have a cut off flow that will move offshore saturday into california. plan on a dry day today san francisco up the coast. saturday upper level low will come with clouds and showers. prepare for that but no prothe through central california, chance of showers every where else sunday. details on that little approaching storm in your weekend forecast coming up. >> sounds good. >> international child porn investigation nabs 200 adults.

rare martian meteorite. bristol palin's frightening gift from a stalker. and deep horizon agrees to pay up. is it enough? you're watching "early today."

welcome back. here are some stories making news this morning. >> the 15-year-old pakistani school girl and women's activist who was shot in the head by the taliban in october has been released from a uk hospital. she's expected to have more reconstructive surgery within the next month. rape and murder charges have been filed against five men accused of attacking a 23-year-old medical student in delhi, india last month. the brutal gang rape sparked protests by women and other who called for stronger punishments of rapists. >> immigration and customer enforcement officials announced they arrested 240 people in an international investigation of child porn graphy. 123 child victims ranging in age

of 17 to less than a year old were identified. 110 of them were located in 19 u.s. states and the rest were in six other countries. >> this just into nbc. disturbing new video shows thousands of freshly cut shark fins laid out to dry in hong kong. the delicacy is banned in some countries. each year some 75 million sharks are killed only for their fins. scientists say a rock found in the is a had a a desert is part of a martian meteorite. it contains about ten times more water than any other space rock from mars. though it's from the red planet the entire rock is black earning the name black beauty. >> scientists say our milky way galaxy contains 110 billion planets. their suns are smaller and cooler than our own so maybe only 200 billion planets.

on to wall street. the dow lost 21 points to close at 13 bs 391. the s&p was down three and the nasdaq lost 11. overseas the nikkei soared 292 points but the hang seng dropped 67. investors will look to 28:30 a.m. jobs report to determine just how stocks will ride out the first friday the year. one thing sure to heat up this cold january day, go daddy is set to unveil their 2013 go daddy girl. supermodel bar refaeli will be announced this is their spokesmodel. she'll pair up with race car driver danica patrick in a 30-second spot. >> transocean will pay $1.4 billion in addition to admission of criminal conduct. bp paid $4.5 billion settlement in november leased the platform from transocean which built and staffed the deepwater horizon. and former vice president al gore personally will pocket

about $100 million from the sale of this personal tv channel to al jazeera. he will serve on the board but will not be paid. if you have a smartphone, listen up, that glass that covers your device is about to get a whole lot stronger. corning will unveil gorilla three glass next week. the glass covering is already in 975 android and apple devices. and if you'd like to own a little piece of barack obama history, the inauguration store is open for business. you can pick up a $10 shot glass and $15 tube socks and $7500 metal and silver medallions of course made in america. straight ahead on "early today" an update on that school board member who hit a student with her car. plus, an unusual gathering of sharks causes these u.s. beaches to be cleared. details next. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. we begin with an update on the georgia school board official accused of intentionally hitting a teen with her car over a parking spot. in the wake of her arrest the woman has resigned from the school board. next, to pittsburgh where a massive water main break flooded roads and cascades of water spilled on to passing cars. the 12-inch line rupture also led to the evacuation of a college dorm forcing students to

wait out the two-hour ordeal in single digit weather. downtown minneapolis, the rupture turned roads into rivers before crews were able to put a clamp on the massive leak. a school of sharks forced florida officials to shut down jensen beach. the closure came down two days after a winter storm warning suffered a shark bite. marine scientists say the sightings are unusual since the sharks' natural food supply has not been spotted in the area. and finally, a virginia bagel shop has come up with a dish they feel best describes the fiscal crisis in washington, d.c. it's called the congressional sandwich made with mayonnaise, mustard, cheese and of course lots of baloney. in sports, oregon's de'anthony thomas ran back the opening kickoff 94 yards. to jump out to a lead before some people even took to their seats. the ducks went on to crush

number five kansas state 35-17. tonight, it's the cotton bowl game in arlington texas as number 9 texas a&m plays 11th ranked oklahoma. >> in new york, an alley-oop shot of j.r. smith lead to an acrobatic backwards jam. the knicks got a 100-83 win over san antonio. in baseball, former yankees player nick swisher signed with cleveland. a deal worth $56 million. >> an autopsy found dallas cowboys practice squad player was legally sober when he killed a teammate in an accident. and here they go again. green bay fans turned out to help the packers get ready for saturday's playoff game against the vikings by shoveling the snow out of the seats at lambeau field. and they get paid ten bucks an hour. >> "early today" sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray never all.

just ahead, middle earth coming to a theme park near you. a disturbing story surrounding sarah palin's daughter bristol. and "star wars" creator george lucas gets ready to tie the knot with a pretty powerful woman. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this friday morning. so we'll end our tranquil weather pattern here in the west as we go through the weekend. not for today.

today looks fine. increasing clouds from portland southward in central and northern california. sunshine lower down there in the southwest. no problem. as we take you through the weekend we introduce the rain. not a blockbuster soaking rain or severe weather. some periods of light rain especially during the day saturday. san francisco, sacramento, also showers in the northwest and by sunday it dives further to the south. we'll introduce showers in los angeles. but, again, not going ruin anyone's weekend. just a little bit of wet weather. the top-selling song of 2012 was not "gangnam style." ♪ now you're just somebody that i used to know ♪ >> goyte's "somebody that i used to know" sold 6.8 million digital copies last year. i bought one of them. and it made it the top selling song over "call me maybe." >> after seven years of courtship george lucas is officially engaged to melody

hobbson. >> bristol palin has been granted a restraining order against the man who sent her an engagement ring. universal studios and warner brothers have reportedly been in talks with the tolkien estate to build a theme park. the success of harry potter has been the driving force. hopefully, the hobbits will be tall enough to get on a ride. do you think we missed the latest kimye news? sources say they do not intend to get married because kim is still married to kris humphries. >> that's not legal? >> not two at once. and speaking of baby kimye, this is what he or she would look like. cute baby. they are good looking people. >> i just want to be there when

the child learns about her parents. the first time the child googles mommy. this next one comes to us from kxas in dallas, texas where a sister and brother teamed up to take on a life-threatening health scare. the siblings have displayed a unique bond even as adults their connection has stayed strong especially when casey needed a kidney. taylor was the matching donor paving the way for a sibling rescue and a great memory to take into the new year. that's very heart warming. most of us would do that for our siblings. >> you would think. there's stories that don't get along so well with their siblings. >> still touching. i'm mara schiavocampo this is "early today," this, your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

a chilly tourist attraction is leaving tourists out in the cold. the ice and snow world in china is the largest theme park of its kind with 2,000 art works on display. they are beautifully lit at night with nearly every color. over 30 recreational activities await visitors with everything including ice bumper cars to frozen slides and bicycles on ice. some birds can put on quite a show. even on the ground. a japanese zoo set the stage for a favorite seasonal attraction a penguin walk. one little penguin even got up and close and very personal with enthusiastic fans. look at him. he's friendly. in belgium, one typical farm

cow is shaping up to be quite the stallion. an 11-year-old girl has managed to teach her cow to leap like a horse. oh, wow. the girl was inspired by seeing a similar trick on youtube. and decided to give it a try. the stunt took a year to learn. now, she can leap over a 2 1/2 foot bar with the same grace as a horse. that is inspiring. >> when is the disney movie? >> if you can teach a cow like a horse, that's like a life's lesson. am i being too sentimental? >> there's wilbur and charlotte's web. there's a movie about the pig that rounded up the sheep. there's a precedence for this. time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. former arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords visited newtown, connecticut. giffords who was shot and wounded at an event two years ago will have a private meeting with students and teachers where 20 students was killed. idaho senator michael crapo

is due in court on driving while intoxicated charges in alexandria, virginia. the senator has apologized and taken full responsibility for the incident. on this date in 1943, soviet dictator joseph stalin appeared on "time" magazine as the 1942 man of the year. all day long stay on top of the very latest developments on these stories and the best political analysis on nbc. and watch "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. and finally here's what's coming up on the "today" show. as john boehner returns to the house after the fiscal cliff, hear why a member of the gop is still not happy. >> and details how the man with the golden voice ted williams has given back two years after being discovered on a street corner. keep it on this channel for continuing news, weather, sports and more. i'm mara schiavocampo. thanks for watching "early today," this, your first stop of the day on your nbc station. have a good one.